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Lake Country Estates, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency

440 U.S. 391 · Decided March 5, 1979 · Supreme Court of the United States

Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.

At a glance

Lake Country Estates, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency was decided on March 5, 1979 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part and reversed or vacated it in part. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Governmental liability” in the Economic Activity area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
440 U.S. 391 · 99 S. Ct. 1171 · 59 L. Ed. 2d 401 · 1979 U.S. LEXIS 68
Docket number
77-1327
Decided
March 5, 1979
Argued
December 4, 1978
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
6–3
Majority opinion
John Paul Stevens
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Legal provision
Eleventh Amendment
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.DissentWrote an opinion
Justice Potter StewartMajority
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Thurgood MarshallDissentWrote an opinion
Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerMajority
Justice Harry A. BlackmunDissentWrote an opinion
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.Majority
Justice William H. RehnquistMajority
Justice John Paul StevensMajorityWrote an opinion

Full case caption

Lake Country Estates, Inc., et al. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1978-053, docket 1978-053-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Eleventh Amendment

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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error